Pope Francis in movies, from A Man of His Word to Conclave

Even before his first day as leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis was a notable pontiff. He was the first pope from the Americas, and the first in almost 600 years to succeed a pope who stepped down (rather than die), as Benedict XVI did in 2013. That unusual transfer of power became the subject of a 2019 movie, The Two Popes, starring Anthony Hopkins as Benedict XVI, and Jonathan Pryce as the future Francis; his pre-papal name was Jorge Mario Bergoglio. It’s a drama (and fictionalized), but not without its moments of levity, crafting an “Odd Couple” vibe by contrasting the grumpy and elderly Benedict with the relatively spry and jovial Jorge. Both actors were Oscar-nominated for their roles, as was Anthony McCarten for best adapted screenplay. But it’s not the only movie to have been inspired by the most recent pope. Here are five others. Pope Francis: A Man of His Word That title was echoed this week by former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations Phil Fontaine as he recalled Pope Francis. But Wim Wenders made his documentary about the Pope back in 2018. A year before its release he told National Post he had been approached by the Vatican to make it. “The Vatican in the form of its minster of communications wrote to me and said ‘We are making a film with the Pope’ — not on the Pope, with the Pope — ‘and we’re looking at our options and we figured you should do it.’ And I said: ‘Thank you.'” Wenders was raised Catholic, converted to Protestantism, and holds an honorary doctorate in theology from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. “I’m neither Catholic nor Protestant,” he said. “I try to be both. I figure, I’m Christian and I go into any church that I want and I have friends on all sides.” Later, discussing the finished film, he said: “I was nervous the first time (I met Francis). The first shoot, we were ready for hours. We had prepared everything the day before. I told my team: Never will we ask him to do something again. He is not an actor.” But when the Pope arrived, he did so alone; no entourage, no bodyguards. And the first thing he did was to shake everyone’s hand. “He greeted every electrician,” said Wenders. “He greeted every assistant. He made it clear we’re all equal. Everybody who worked on this had a right to look him in the eye, to ask him a question, to talk to him. He made the idea of equality very clear, and we very quickly lost this shyness — wow, this is the Pope, a superstar. No; he came very modestly and humbly, and made contact with everybody.” Wenders had met enough celebrities and heads of state (and actors) to know when such behaviour is genuine. “He’s not pretending to be cordial. He’s not acting. That’s him. He’s a genuine person who likes people genuinely,” he said. Francesco This 2020 documentary by Israeli-American director Evgeny Afineevsky looks at Pope Francis’s reactions to the ongoing pandemic as well issues around immigration and the environment. It also shows him meeting with victims of abuse by clergy and asking for forgiveness. It’s a theme that would repeat itself in 2022, when Francis visited Canada and apologized for the “evil committed by so many Christians” in residential schools. The Letter: A Message for Our Earth In a 2015 encyclical (papal letter) entitled Laudato Si (Italian for “Praise Be to You”), Pope Francis levelled criticism at those who put profits over people, and noted the “grave implications” of climate change, including environmental, social, economic and political impacts. Director Nicolas Brown, whose speciality is nature documentaries, met with activists from around the world — including the Amazon, Senegal and Hawaii — as they prepared to meet with the Pope and discuss their concerns for this 2022 doc. In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis Pope John Paul II is considered to have been the most travelled pope, with more than 100 foreign trips and a million kilometres in his 26 and a half years as pontiff. But Francis was no slouch, with 47 trips outside of Italy covering some 465,000 kilometres in roughly half that time. Director Gianfranco Rosi’s 2022 documentary covers the first nine years of his papacy, illustrating not just the Pope’s many travels but he unceasing desire to get close to and communicate with real people everywhere he went. Conclave Though not specifically about Pope Francis, this recent thriller deals with the death of a pope and the election of a new one. Strip away some of its wild plot twists — it was based on a novel by Robert Harris — and it’s an excellent primer on the process and some of the machinations behind the secretive election of a new pontiff. Nominated for eight Oscars including best picture, it’s an engrossing peek behind the curtains of the Vatican. Just don’t believe everything it says.

• What is the process for choosing a new Pope?
• Pope Francis: A Man of His Word offers a snapshot of one man making the best of the job he’s been given